Court applications for judicial separation and divorce down last year

There was a drop in the number of applications for judicial separation in 2016, when the majority of the applications came from wives.

Figures released by the Courts Service show there were 1,353 applications during the year, a five per cent decrease on 2015.

Almost 60 per cent of the applications were from wives, with that figure rising to 83 per cent in the High Court, where 29 of the total number of applications occurred. Applications in the High Court usually involve greater asset values.

In relation to divorce, there was a three per cent decrease in the number of applications, to 4,179, with again almost 60 per cent coming from wives.

Number of house repossession cases falls by 32%

---

Tusla ‘not involved in cover-up’, executive tells Charleton tribunal

---

Tamil widow blames RUC for training team she says killed her family

---

Bad blood in Bailieboro – and questions for Charleton tribunal

---

There were 62 applications for the dissolution of civil partnerships, with the majority of the applications, 71 per cent, involving female partnerships.

In relation to the area of domestic violence, the statistics show a six per cent increase in applications for barring, safety and protection orders in the District Court, to 15,227.

There were 9,991 child care applications to the courts, which was a slight decrease on the previous year. Several orders can be made about the same child, so the number of applications does not necessarily reflect the number of children affected.

On crime, the figures show a 13 per cent increase in drug-related charges coming before the District Court in 2016, to 20,726, while there was a 38 per cent decrease in drink-driving cases dealt with by the District Court over the past four years, to 7,800. In 2,800 cases drivers were put off the road while 1,839 cases were dismissed or struck out.

Overall there were 16,261 serious criminal offences that came to court in 2016, and 382,325 more minor offences, which were dealt with in the District Court.

In the District Court by far the highest category of offence was road traffic offences, where 142,300 people were before the court on 225,806 charges. The bulk of the road traffic offences attracted penalty points.

Public order/assault (37,047), larceny/fraud/robbery (33,117), and drugs (20,746) were other significant categories.

In the Central Criminal Court, which is the High Court exercising its criminal jurisdiction, there were 93 trials during the year. There were 21 murder trials, involving 24 defendants, five manslaughter trials involving the same number of defendants, 59 rape trials involving 58 defendants, as well as seven indecent/sexual assault only trials involving seven defendants. Some of the trials involved more than one offence.

The Circuit Court dealt with 14,255 new criminal cases in 2016, involving 4,443 defendants. The largest category was that of larceny/fraud/robbery, followed by drugs, assault, and sexual offences.

In the non-jury Special Criminal Court there were a total of 60 new offences involving 29 defendants, with membership of an illegal organisation, and possession of firearms/explosives, being the main categories. In relation to the membership offences, there were two guilty pleas during the year, one conviction, and one acquittal. There were 15 nolle prosequi.

In relation to possession charges, there were ten trials, and no acquittals.